Park Board to relight beloved Vancouver tree after neighbour complaints

A grove of trees near English Bay in Vancouver’s West End neighbourhood will have its holiday lights relit in the coming days after heartbroken neighbours complained they went dark.

“We’re working on a plan to illuminate the tree and expect the lights to be activated in the coming days,” a park board spokesperson told Daily Hive Urbanized.

The Park Board didn’t answer questions about why the tree wasn’t lit this year in the first place.

Aviva Lacterman/Submitted

The installation is called Lights for Life and, according to plaques near the trees, it’s been lit since the 1990s. It’s a celebration of the achievements of Vancouver’s longest-serving parks commissioner George Wainborn and was made possible by artist Joe Average, Noma Lights, the park board, and the Friends for Life Society.

Daily Hive

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West End resident Michael Trew told Daily Hive Urbanized he’s admired the lights for 30 years and didn’t understand why they weren’t lit this year.

“It stands out this time of year and provides a source of light. It’s kind of inspiring when it’s such a dull and dreary climate this time of year,” he said.

Daily Hive

Resident Aviva Lacterman also voiced her frustration about losing the lights. Over the years they’ve become a fond family memory.

“We always used to drive by with my young daughter over the years, and she’d say ‘Papa open the window,’” Lacterman said. “It was always a pleasure to drive at night and see it all.”

The grove of trees grows at the corner of Bidwell Street and Beach Avenue, near the Olympic Inukshuk at English Bay. The lights are still strung up in the trees’ branches, and, according to the park board, will be lit soon.